Messi, six teammates away with national teams in midst of Inter Miami playoffs
Lionel Messi is on fire with eight goals over four games. Inter Miami just advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time in club history; and a do-or-die playoff road game against FC Cincinnati awaits on Nov. 23.
So, why are Messi and six of his teammates missing from training this week? Because they are with their national teams for the FIFA November window, which runs from Nov. 10-18.
Among the many ways MLS differs from other American sports leagues is that several times per year, players leave for national team duty, no matter what part of the league season those windows fall. In this case, players have dispersed in the middle of the playoffs.
Messi and teammate Rodrigo De Paul are with Argentina’s team, training in Spain through Thursday and then heading to Angola for a friendly on Friday. They are expected to head back to Inter Miami immediately after that game.
Telasco Segovia is with Venezuela for friendlies against Australia in Houston on Friday and against Canada in Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 18.
Ian Fray traveled to Jamaica and will play World Cup qualifiers on the road against Trinidad and Tobago on Friday and at home against Curacao on Nov. 18. Noah Allen is in Greece for Euro U21 qualifying matches against Georgia and Northern Ireland.
Santi Morales is in Wales with the U.S. U19 team for a tournament against Germany, Wales and Japan. And Israel Boatright (Dominican Republic) has friendlies against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Martinique.
“Now, we can have a bit of a rest and take advantage of the FIFA window,” said Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano. “We wish success for all the players who are away with their national teams and, the most important thing is for them to come back healthy.
“Then we start to prepare for a very, very difficult conference semifinal against a tough opponent. In the regular season head-to-head, they have the edge, but I felt good about how we played in our home match against them. We head into this next game aiming to get to the first conference championship in club history.”
The Eastern Conference Semifinal is a single elimination game on Sunday Nov. 23 at 5 p.m. at TQL Stadium. The cheapest ticket listed on Monday was in the $300 range with prices going as high as $2,800.
The winner advances to the conference final on Nov. 29 or Nov. 30 against the winner of the game between Philadelphia Union and New York City FC.
The last time Inter Miami faced FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium, on July 16, Messi and his teammates were shut out 3-0, ending a five-game win streak. Brazilian star Evander scored twice in that game and Gerardo Valenzuela scored the other goal.
Miami played much better in the rematch 10 days later in Fort Lauderdale, holding Cincinnati to a 0-0 draw despite the absence of Messi and Jordi Alba, who were serving a suspension for skipping the MLS All-Star Game. Center back Maxi Falcon was also suspended due to yellow card accumulation.
FC Cincinnati, the No. 2 seed in the East, reached the conference semifinal with a 2-1 come-from-behind win over the Columbus Crew last weekend. Brazilian forward Brenner scored both goals. The Crew won Game 2 of the series 4-0 and Cincinnati won the first game 1-0.
“Cincinnati will be a very tough opponent, they are a team that has a clear style of play,” Mascherano said. “We’ll have to see if they get back some of the players they were missing due to injuries. But surely what we will face up there is a game with a lot of intensity, a team that can really hurt you and for us to beat them, we will have to match that intensity.”
After the emphatic win over Nashville on Saturday, Allen said: “Losing was not an option. I’ve carried that pain [of last year’s first-round loss], all of us did who were here last year. We’re a team with high expectations. We’re not a team that exits in the first round. We’re a team that makes it to the MLS final, so we wanted to make sure it was not a repeat of last year. But we still have three games left in this journey. Our job’s not done.”
In the other three semifinals, Philadelphia plays at home vs. NYCFC on Nov. 23 at 7:30 p.m.; Vancouver plays at home vs. LAFC on Nov. 22 at 9:30 p.m.; and San Diego plays at home vs. Minnesota United on Nov. 24 at 10 p.m. All the games will be broadcast on Apple TV.
This story was originally published November 10, 2025 at 3:22 PM.